T133 Use of Oil and Gas Production Wastes Outside the Oil Field: Lab, Field, and Modeling Studies of Potential Impacts

Monday, 23 September 2024
1:30 PM - 5:30 PM
211B

A GROUNDWATER MODELING FRAMEWORK FOR ELUCIDATING DRINKING-WATER VULNERABILITY TO CONTAMINATION BY WASTEWATER SPILLS FROM OIL AND GAS DEVELOPMENT

Paper number: T133-3
Program: Technical Sessions
Time: 1:55 PM – 2:10 PM

Authors

Abstract

Nearly 20,000 unconventional oil and gas wells have been drilled and hydraulically fractured in the Marcellus and Utica/Point Pleasant shale region since 2004. While unconventional oil and gas development (UOGD) has made natural gas plentiful, created jobs, and increased economic activity, it has been accompanied by persistent concerns over its role in contamination of drinking water. Spills of hydraulic fracturing fluids, drilling fluids, and wastewaters have been implicated as sources of well-water impairment in households proximal to UOGD extraction. Our overarching goal is to develop and apply a hydrologic-based modeling framework for quantifying the risks posed by UOGD spills on the chemical quality of domestic well waters of the Marcellus region. Application of this modeling framework will enable novel inferences on the ways that hydrologic conditions and spill characteristics interact to shape contamination risks. This information should be valuable in supporting exposure assessment for health studies, planning interventions, designing water-quality monitoring programs, and illuminating relationships between sociodemographic factors and areas at high risk from UOGD-sourced contamination.

Geological Society of America Abstracts with Programs. Vol. 56, No. 5

doi: 10.1130/abs/2024AM-404781

© Copyright 2024 The Geological Society of America (GSA), all rights reserved. Permission is hereby granted to the author(s) of this abstract to reproduce and distribute it freely, for noncommercial purposes. Permission is hereby granted to any individual scientist to download a single copy of this electronic file and reproduce up to 20 paper copies for noncommercial purposes advancing science and education, including classroom use, providing all reproductions include the complete content shown here, including the author information. All other forms of reproduction and/or transmittal are prohibited without written permission from GSA Copyright Permissions.